To make a complaint about my GP? *trigger warning*

[wictional]

This is my first thread, although I’ve commented on a few.

I’m just wondering whether you ladies think that I have reasonable grounds for a complaint or whether I’m just cashing in on the ‘sue them!’ culture. To clarify, I’m just wanting to complain, not sue!

Basically, I’ve been seeing a GP for clinical depression and social/generalised anxiety disorder. He’s not my usual doctor, but due to severe anxiety I’d not made an appointment for so long that I’d forgotten my usual GP’s name

Anway, after I’d told him that neither citralopram nor fluoxetine were working, he put me on sertraline 50mg.

At my four week checkup, I asked for it to be raised because I still wasn’t doing well. He refused. I asked him if I could be tested for autism because it’s something I suspected I had. He told me that I ‘seemed like an educated young lady (I have an MA) and could articulate my problems (as a result of previous therapy)’ so he saw no reason that I should be either autistic or depressed.

After my eight week checkup, I got the courage to go back to therapy. The therapist immediately signed me up for intense CBT and an autism test.

At my twelve week checkup, my GP dismissed my depressive thoughts as being due to work stress, told me that 50mg was still enough, and said that I didn’t need to see him again.

A week later (last Friday) I was so low that I considered ending my life. I didn’t. This Tuesday, my therapist rang up and said that the preliminary test had concluded that I’m in the bracket to be diagnosed with autism.

I’m so angry with the way the GP continually dismissed me. AIBU to make a complaint, or is it just down to the fact he only has five minutes with me at a time and so missed stuff?

It sounds to me as if you want to punish the GP for not giving you what you want. Is that really constructive? Is it going to help you?

In any other profession, it is recognised that feedback is helpful and necessary. I think it's particularly low and sly that the NHS has decided to try and suppress a complaints system by turning on the patient and making them sound bitter. No, it may not help the patient but anyone without a horse in the race can see that it may help someone else if incompetence is pulled up!!!! Manipulative BS.

Yanbu. Complain. People tolerate being dismissed by health professionals far too often.

I've lodged two formal complaints about being dismissed by nhs services recently. The first they apologised, said they fell short of the expected standards and said they will train their staff about the condition they totally missed, dismissed when I mentioned it but was later diagnosed. The second i'm still awaiting a reply. There may be a third if a private assessment diagnoses another thing they've dismissed! Incidentally asd.

Complain.

People are often fobbed off by GPs and pay the price for it. I have seen it too many times and it isn't good enough. Your GP was dismissive. Putting aside the autism diagnosis did he explain why he can't increase the Setraline? If he is refusing to increase the dose you are owed an explanation as to why.

Telling you that he sees no reason for you to be depressed is absolutely disgusting.

No one should take that shit.

I am not sure that complaining is going to achieve much rather than causing you to dwell on a perceived issue. If I was in your situation I would not complain.

It might make the GP think twice next time he wants to tell someone that he sees no reason why they would be depressed or have autism.

People think nothing of complaining about bad service they receive in shops or restaurants but when it comes to HCP it is often a different story. People putting it 'behind them' and keeping quiet is why the crap HCPs get away with it.

Yanbu, complain OP. FWIW depression and anxiety is much more common for those with ASD so may be linked (possibly due to higher feelings of isolation). I think it’s unfortunately fairly common to have our concerns dismissed by gps, whether it’s mental health or often if it’s your child you’re labelled a paranoid parent etc. But it doesn’t make it ok.

Leliana

if you're functioning well and just seeking a diagnosis to help you understand yourself

but the OP is suicidal- suicidal ideation is not functioning well surely?

Jeffers3 maybe she wants a diagnosis so she can recover from feeling suicidal and struggling so much socially?

Am honestly not trying to be mean to anyone on here. I just do not see why the OP is getting a harsh reaction?

wictional

GP seems very ignorant. Saying you "look fine?" Well, depression is not always visible. Articulate, intellligent, well educated people don't have MH issues????!!! OK, Sylvia Plath, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Wurtzel, Virginia Woolf, Stephen Fry, were/are all uneducated thickos then? It would be laughable if it wasn't so harmful

I think you'd be right to complain about the sertraline, yes 50mg is a standard dose, but if after 12 weeks it hadn't helped, he should have increased it. Also yes, complain about him being dismissive, GPs can be very variable when it comes to MH and if no one raises it with him, how can he improve his practice?

With the autism, speaking as an autistic person, I would echo what others have said about autism services being basically non-existent following diagnosis and I was diagnosed before adulthood, where there tends to be more support. If all you're after is an explanation for yourself, then personally I would read up on autism and not chase a formal diagnosis. The main reason I say this is that having a diagnosis of autism makes accessing mental health services very difficult were your depression/anxiety to escalate to the point of needing a referral to the adult mental health team. In my experience both personally and as a HCP, MH services tend to feel they can't deal with autism, even if that isn't the reason you need the service. Obviously if you think that you would benefit from adjustments at work etc then a diagnosis is invaluable.

and wictional I think you should complain. Am sick of ignorance about mental health etc in healthcare

Things HCPs have said to me (diagnosis of BPD/EUPD, possible CPTSD, OCD, anxiety here)

"well, you will probably cut or overdose when you go home, but you not going to jump off as bridge, are you? you will be fine"
"just calm down- you are not really distressed. just stop crying and LISTEN to me"
(when having such bad anxiety i was crying hysterically and pacing and so paranoid i was admitted to A and E) "stop making that noise! there are really SICK patients here!" Nurse then told my sister i was just being manipulative when i told her i was suicidal. because my sister wanted to tell my parents where i was and i was terrified of my father)
"i'm going to hang up the phone if you don't stop crying"

Golden child that's awful but doesn't surprise me.

The chief mh doctor said I couldn't be depressed because ''I'd plucked my eyebrows.'' Ummm... ok!

marciebluebell

the chief mh doctor said i couldn't be depressed because "id plucked my eyebrows" ?????? Where do these people get their training?

GP does not stand for ginger pubes.
This is a very classic example of manipulation and power play.
Anyone who advertises the fact that they are going to kill themselves does not intend to do it.
I’m actually really fucking angry here.
I’ve lost a very close friend who was broken and in great need of services that were not available because of people who where pissing about

ain't
I'm so sorry about your friend. If you do a bit of googling about suicide prevention and myths around suicide, you'll find that genuinely suicidal people are often aware that they're at risk and in need of help. They often talk about their intentions and are desperate to find another way out.

Thank you all

I’ve taken on board your comments about autism diagnosis. It’s out of my hands for the moment but perhaps I’ll stop chasing it if it’s going to be so needless

I didn’t mean to offend anyone when I said it would help me understand myself; I promise I’m taking it seriously!

Neither did I intend to offend anyone by not actually killing myself and by contacting the emergency services instead.

@Fallofrain None of your post helped address op's issues or answer her question. Not helpful.

Op, many professionals do not understand autism, much less understand autism in females.

Your dr sounds very dismissive of you, and seems to have an air of "I know best". I do not know what good a complaint will do, as the surgery will not ever admit anything, so you may just end up frustrated even more.

I would try and find a dr who understands autism better and who will support you better. Can your therapist help you find one?

Anyone who advertises the fact that they are going to kill themselves does not intend to do it.

Please don’t repeat this myth. It absolutely isn’t true and not only might it prevent people from reaching out for help, but it might cause people to ignore others because they think they are attention seeking or being manipulative.

I would complain.

I have aspergers and ADHD, and get told I “look fine”. It pisses me off.

First of all OP 💐💐💐 I’ve been where you are, in MH terms. In the short term definitely a new GP - getting the medication you need is top priority. Easier said than done, but try not to worry about hurting his feelings! It sounds like he doesn’t worry about hurting yours, and in any case, men like this are typically oblivious to others’ poor view of them.

In the long term, i would complain so he can’t do the same to someone else. Include verbatim the exchange about driving into a truck. I do not myself know what the rules are, but I know that every time I have been to the GP about MH issues they are VERY careful to establish whether I have suicidal thoughts. This leads me to believe that suicidal thoughts are one of the fundamental things they are meant to be checking for in these sessions.

By the way this might be too personal or would derail the thread too much, but if you don’t mind discussing it, I would be very interested to know about some of the traits that have made you suspect autism. Adult autism diagnosis is a matter of great interest to me for various reasons. Understand if you don’t want to talk about it though.

@slothslothsloth thank you for your kind response!

I’d rather not talk about my traits here; I feel rather stupid/like a fraud after some of these responses and I don’t want to open myself up to ridicule

'Tests' or screening tools for Autism are completely useless on their own and would not be considered an appropriate referral to a lot of specialised adult Autism diagnostic services.

Complain about your GP if you want to.

Please don't feel stupid OP. You are absolutely not and it's clear that some posters on this thread have not a clue about any of these issues (or worse, an instinct to close ranks and victim blame). They would have done well to keep their ill-informed ideas to themselves.

Your thinking is clear, your expectations were reasonable and you were right to take care of yourself as much as you were able to.

re autism the rate of depression (which this lady has) is far higher in people within the spectrum & knowing you have autism is important in understanding yourself & it is important in treating autism & the way depression is treated. The Autism Act was about adults getting diagnosis & not about rationing. Many gps as this one has proved by his attitudes & ignorance about autism - have not appreciated how difficult it is to function & how differently women present (nb women present differently in schizophrenia as noted in the DSM 5). Women are seriously underdiagnosed because they present differently & are more able to mask their symptoms - this does not mean they are not as seriously affected. Just medicated someone & not listening in mental health...arg. Please contact the NAS - I don't think enough people do make a complaint in mental health (lack of) treatment

@Cleaningthefours - the Aq screening test is the only criteria for the service that is commissioned to provide assessments in our NHS trust. This service is commissioned for at least 3 other NHS trusts that I know of. I think it's probably more common than you'd think

Are you on any other drugs op? A doctor put my Dm on setraline and it nearly killed her

Thanks for answering, wictional. Hadnt RTFT before, but now I have I totally get why you you feel that way and I’m sorry for asking. Please try not to take the nonsense some posters here spout to heart. Remember they don’t know you or know anything about your situation beyond what you’ve posted.

Sending you positive thoughts - you can and will come out the other side of this.